As usual all speech in italics is in the Old Tongue.
Chapter CXXXIX - Freedom for the People!
The bearded man that Taija had seen on the posters appeared on the screen, he was a bit chubbier than in those images and looked a little older, but it was definitely the same man. All she could see in the background, behind his head and shoulders, was a metal wall. Maybe a bunker of some kind?
Taija opened her mouth to speak and then remembered she didn't actually know that these people were her enemies. They'd tried to kill her, but if she was scrupulously fair, she had broken into their city and ignored rather a lot of warning signs. Maybe it was a time to be polite. "Chief Secretary I presume?" Taija gave the screen a low bow. "My name is Taija Kosola…"
He cut her off, a scowl on his face. "Where is he? Ah, yes. You, young man. You have brought your group here, destroyed the sanctity of Paral, broken into my very office, why? What do you want from us?" Taija realised after a second that he seemed to be looking past her, to… Jaer? How odd. Of course it meant he could see her, but then why wouldn't he be able to? Obviously they'd have decent video conferencing facilities. After a moment she spotted what was probably a webcam, little red light blinking on it.
Jaer looked a little confused and Taija answered. "I wanted to speak to you, to understand what's happened here, how Paral even exists?"
He gave her a look of abject contempt. "How Paral exists? It's obvious, by keeping scum like you out of the city. We are the only remnant of civilisation left in the world and we have only survived through revolutionary action, revolution against the strictures of life ruled by channelers for their own interests. Freedom, peace and prosperity could not be achieved under the iron web of channelers." He almost sounded like he was reciting something, then he dismissed Taija with a glance and his eyes went back to Jaer. "You have demonstrated exactly why channelers cannot be allowed in Paral. It is clear that you are not from the city and I cannot see how you could be from the Wastelands. The only conclusion I can come to is that it seems that Traveling is possible once more. So I ask again, what do you want here?"
"I want to know what happened." Taija tried and fail to tamp down on her anger. "I want to know what turned Paral from what it was in my time into a murderous, isolated shadow of my time's glories."
His eyes came back to her. "Your time? Does the madness now affect women as well as men? Control your woman boy, this is too important to indulge her infantile fantasies. I could have you killed as we speak, the building is being targeted by weapons you cannot imagine. However, I have no wish to destroy or damage the City Hall further than you already have. So, I shall make this offer once. Tell me what you want in order to leave in peace and you can live to enjoy a long life far away in whatever place you call home." The way he said 'place' told Taija exactly what he thought of the world outside Paral.
Taija took a step back, blinking at his words and glanced at Jaer. He looked more indecisive than she'd ever seen him. Why was this man trying to speak to Jaer? She was obviously the one in charge, she was the one at his desk and she was the one that was doing the talking. Light, Jaer could barely speak the Common Tongue by her standards. Eventually she broke the silence. "I'm in charge of this group, so speak to me."
"You're in charge?" His eyebrows shot up and then he gathered himself. "If you say so, I suppose it is to be expected." Taija wasn't sure why he was behaving like that about her, but whatever. Her dislike for Paral was only growing. "So what do you want woman?"
She sighed. "I already told you. I want to know what happened to this place. How it survived, what you've done to it?!"
"Me, I have done nothing, but preserve the greatest city on Earth, continue in the legacy of a long line of predecessors, protecting civilisation from destruction! I find it hard to believe that is all you want after all the destruction you have caused."
"The greatest city on…" Taija got her angry disbelief under control almost immediately. "Alright, let me be more specific, how did Paral survive the Breaking when the rest of civilisation didn't?"
He stared for a second. "You come here, kill so many people and now you say that if I answer your questions you'll leave Paral, never to return?"
"We only came because you attacked one of us." He looked unmoved by that and Taija sighed. "You have my word." She was less and less interested by the place every second she was here, but that was one promise she wouldn't hesitate to break if she decided it was necessary. The man had threatened her with death and she just wanted answers, it wasn't a deal she'd feel bound by.
"Very well. A basic history to educate you barbarians before you return to whatever excuse you call home."
"Fuck off," Taija muttered, hopefully too quietly for the camera to pick up.
He gathered himself ignoring or not hearing her words, but she could hear the pride infecting his tone. "Paral was one of the greatest cities on the planet prior to the Wars of Power, a shining beacon the equal of Paaran Disen." Taija resisted the urge to interrupt at that, it would be unproductive. Nevertheless he must have seen some of the scepticism on her face. "You do not believe me? Have you even heard of the Great Cities where you come from?"
"Just… continue, I'm sure it was lovely." It hadn't been.
"Like every other city of the pre-War era Paral laboured under the boot of the aes sedai."
"That's…"
He cut Taija off. "Perhaps you have studied some history, some remnants of records that survived the Breaking? You speak the Common Tongue adequately, so something must have remained afterwards on other continents. The aes sedai had their propaganda, preaching of quality, freedom, prosperity for all. However, that was not the truth, as you would know if you had the records we do. Pre-War society was stagnant, ruled by channeling overlords who lived lives of luxury, pretending to serve the masses while acting in their own interests. Of course they threw a few bones to the underclasses, provided them with some minimum standard of living, but there was no freedom, no representation of the People." Taija could hear the capitalisation of the word.
"That's not how it was, it was true freedom and equality. Democratic government, people were happy!"
"Typical aes sedai propaganda. You claimed to be one did you not, downstairs? I will humour you though, do your records tell you how many non-channelers there were on the Grand Council on the eve of the first War?"
"The first War? There was only one War."
He looked at Taija like she was an idiot, it wasn't something she was used to, even after her earlier days in this time. "Of course there was more than one War of Power, there was the Cold War, called the Collapse at the time, then the War with the Shadow and then the War of Destruction, also known as the Breaking. Now I am doing you the politeness of humouring your questions, so please try to overcome your weaknesses and engage in logical discussion instead of trying to dance around what I say. How many non-channelers there were on the Grand Council on the eve of the first War?"
Taija had never thought about it, politics wasn't her thing. "There were…"
He cut her off again. "Seventeen. Out of over three hundred members." Was that true? Taija wasn't sure, she'd never paid all that much attention to politics, but it sounded worryingly plausible when she thought about it.
"What proportion of people awarded third names were non-channelers?"
"That's not the…"
"Approximately seven percent."
"But channelers lived longer, dedicated themselves to serving the world, it was inevitable that they'd be more likely to get third names. That doesn't mean it was unfair!"
"Mmm. This is why I am glad that Paral overthrew the channelers yoke. That is why it has been able to form a government for the people, by the people. You say it was not unfair? Channelers made up 2.87% of the population immediately prior to the War. Yet they held almost 95% of representation, 95% of the greatest honour a person could receive. How is that fair?"
The statistics he was spouting did sound worryingly plausible, but he was missing the point! "Anyone could rise though, everyone had opportunities! No one went hungry! Every citizen had a vote." Taija couldn't keep the distress out of her voice.
"I would not expect you to understand, government is men's business and you have not been blessed by being born in Paral, not that you would have been allowed to stay if you had been. You say no one went hungry, you think that this inequality was good? Look at the results!"
He actually seemed to be offended by her protests, although surely not as outraged as Taija was by what he was saying about her time. "The results? You people go out and murder innocent villagers because it benefits you! You've built a little fortress isolating yourself from the world and all you do outside it is make things worse! The aes sedai and the government dedicated themselves to helping people."
He smiled like she'd just walked into a trap. "Helping people? What about the Cold War, the Collapse. One hundred years straight of declining living standards followed by a total collapse of civilisation outside Paral. If you knew how to use a computer, I could show you a graph."
"Because of the Dark One!"
"There is no evidence that the Dark One actually exists, it was aes sedai struggling against each other for more power."
"How can you say the Dark One doesn't exist?! The evidence is…"
"Paral has moved beyond those ridiculous superstitions. However, let us accept your premise that the Dark One was real, who released the Dark One? The aes sedai in their quest for power."
It was all twisted, but disturbingly plausible, from a certain point of view. He just didn't have all the facts. "That wasn't what it was about. Mierin and Beidomon drilled the Bore to make the world a better place."
He blinked at that. "I am surprised you know those names, but it proves my point. They sought more power, even if you accept their propaganda at face value, that was what it was about and look where things ended up. Mierin Eronaile is recorded as one of the greatest monsters ever to live, mad on the power that she sought. Beidomon died in the internecine struggles of the aes sedai."
"He committed suicide because of the destruction of the Sharom…" Poor man.
"You can believe what you will, regardless the War of Power was a war between factions of channelers that destroyed the lives of billions of ordinary, hard-working citizens. Every horror, every atrocity comes back to channelers. Look at the armies of trollocs, how many people died in their cookpots because of Aginor? Or Ishar Morrad's, hunger for power. A man so eager for power he gave himself a more dramatic name. Demandred fed entire cities to trollocs becuase his ego would not stand for them having laughed at him. I could go on for days. Every single incident another damning condemnation of channelers and their behaviour."
"Servants of the Dark One!"
"Factions of channelers jockeying for power. Can you name me a single leader on either side who was not a channeler?" He didn't want for an answer. "Anyway, you think the so-called Light did not commit atrocities of its own. The so-called Dragon, another man who could not be satisfied with the name he was born with, obliterated Kamelli with balefire. Fifteen million people dead in an instant."
Taija's stomach lurched at that, that didn't happen. Did it? With a sinking feeling she was reminded that she'd only seen part of the War, that things apparently got worse after her "death". But surely Lews Therin wouldn't have done something like that. Would he? What if it had fallen? Military necessity? She didn't ask Tel about those days, she didn't want to know, but she did remember some of what he'd said, about how things were.
The Chief Secretary smiled, "I see that you are starting to understand my point. Good, it seems that despite your weaknesses you can learn." Taija wasn't going to engage with that. "Even if I accepted the existence of your 'Dark One' all of the damage caused by him was the result of channelers. What strength would the Dark One have with only normal people to serve him?"
"Fine, you don't like channelers, get to the point."
"This is the point, the whole point. When Lews Therin did whatever it was he did to win the Second War of Power it drove the men mad, including him. It was an opportunity for freedom. An opportunity that, thankfully, Tarvo Lehtinen was ready to take. Paral was far from the front lines, but it was a centre of weapons production. Those aes sedai that were left in the city were quick to leave. The men were turned out before they could go mad and destroy it, the women persuaded to leave, to protect places more in need of it. Then Tarvo struck, he led the people in revolution. Those few channelers that remained were offered the choice between exile and death. Most chose exile. Then, like the visionary he was, he organised the fortifications that still stand to this day. The people were united, coming together like never before to defend their freedom from channeler oppression, from the madness that had overtaken the world. The struggle lasted for decades and it was hard. Many citizens of Paral sacrificed their lives for the city, for our future, but every mad man, every power hungry woman that attempted to approach Paral was beaten back or killed. Even the One Power cannot stand against a properly organised populace united in its desire for freedom."
Taija stared at him for a second. "You just killed all the channelers and declared yourself a paradise?!"
"Chief Secretary Tarvo was more merciful than that, he offered all channelers the chance of exile and life. Paral does not need to impose itself on the outside world, we just wish to preserve civilisation here, the greatest city on Earth with its people living in equality and freedom."
"How very merciful of you." She didn't bother to keep the sarcasm out of her tone.
It didn't seem to phase him, he just nodded with a smile. "Indeed, despite the crimes of their predecessors, the danger that they present to our society we do not kill channelers, merely exile them to make their own lives."
Taija snorted, "And then send soldiers to kill them and everyone around them."
"Of course not, we have no interest in the outside world or the barbarians that inhabit it. We only act where they are preparing to act against us. The People have the right to defend themselves against outside aggression, whether from channelers or non-channelers."
This man disgusted herwith his blithe words. "I saw the bodies, children executed with their parents. It was little better than I'd expect from the Shadow."
"You may choose to believe what you choose, but you are wrong."
"I saw it with my own eyes!"
"You also claim to be aes sedai. Lies and delusion seem to be fundamental to you. Another reason why I want you out of my city." Was he just gaslighting her right there?!
"For fuck's sake." Taija didn't bother to keep her voice down. She wanted nothing more than to wipe the smug smile off this man's face. "You sit here in your splendid isolation, thinking you're superior to the rest of the world, squatting on a perversion of a once great society. Well you can't not forever."
He scowled at that. "A perversion of a once great society? Tarvo brought freedom to the workers of Paral, Paral was the greatest city of the Age of Legends and has only grown stronger without the yoke of the aes sedai to pull its people down."
"Paral was mediocre. No more, no less. I could name ten nicer cities without even thinking about it. What it is now? I don't know, but it wouldn't stand with even Shorelle and believe me that place was a shithole." Taija already knew it was hopeless, but she needed to try anyway. "Regardless, the Dark One is breaking free, the Last Battle is coming. If he succeeds then nowhere on the planet will be safe, least of all your shitty fortress city. I came out of curiosity, a need to know what was going on here, but I also came to appeal to you as fellow humans to help in the fight against the Dark One, to help save the world from something worse than the Breaking."
"Hahahaha." It was a full on belly laugh. "You really are delusional woman. Paral has survived, thrived by isolating itself from the outside world. We have no interest in fighting your battles, in subjecting ourselves to the aes sedai yoke once more. Ridiculous superstitions about the Dark One or stories of a Last Battle will not change that. If you leave us alone we will leave you alone, but otherwise you will face the true wrath of this city."
Taija hesitated, should she argue more? Then she shook her head. This whole society disgusted her, it was sickening that they'd survived with these delusions and murders when so many better people had died. "Fine. I've heard enough. If you won't fight I can't make you, but believe me about this, if you come creeping out from behind your walls to cause problems, you'll find out that Lews Therin isn't the only one that can wipe out city. We're leaving."
"Typical of your kind. The only response you have to the People's freedom is threats of violence and oppression. Every word you speak only confirms Paral's righteousness."
Taija didn't have time to deal with this now, but after the Last Battle… yes, if she survived, she was going to make damn sure that the inhabitants of the 'Wastelands' started getting more support. See how the Paralans liked it when they couldn't go around killing everyone they wanted, when they had to deal with a real society surrounding them.
Until then… a thought occurred to her. "You had better hope you never give me any reason to return to Paral." She spun fire into the screen, excessive amounts, melting it into slag and then spun a gateway even as fire alarms went off. "This may be dangerous, so take care to protect yourselves." Then she was stepping through, back into the main square outside the city hall.
Taija emerged into the open space, right in front of the plinth and more importantly the sculpture on it, 'Potential'. Troops crowded round the entrance of the city hall on the far side, their attention on that building not on her, although that wouldn't last. She spun air around all of them, a solid, huge barrier and tied it off. Now this was going to be difficult.
"Egwene, Jahar, please could you link. I'm going to need a gateway back to the Hall, as large as you can make it. Faeve, Jaer, kill anyone who shoots at us."
Taija drew fully on saidar, pulling as much as she could through her angreal. Webs of air and earth spring out. In front of you the plinth groans.
"What in the Light are you doing Taija?!" Taija could see saidar twirling around invisible saidin to form a gateway, so she didn't get annoyed by Egwene's question she could multi-task perfectly well.
"This sculpture is from my time, it symbolised… everything good about it. This disgusting place doesn't deserve it, so I'm taking it with me."
With a crunch the plinth breaks in half, tearing away under the control of Taija's webs. The weight is a strain, pushing her ability with the Power, but she was strong in earth and she could just about manage to maneuver it so it was horizontal. She didn't mind too much if more of the plinth was damaged, that wasn't original, but the sculpture was important to her.
There was a crash as some sort of high explosive hits the barrier of air Taija had put up. She felt saidar being spun behind her, presumably in retaliation, but she was too focused on carefully guiding the plinth and sculpture through the gateway. More explosions went off around her and then it was through.
"Right, let's go!" Taija waved the others through the gateway and then went to follow. At the mouth of the gateway she hesitated. Fuck them. She spun fire and earth and carved words into the paving stones.
'A society that kills innocents has no freedom'
Then she jumped through the gateway, leaving her tied off barrier of air surrounding the centre of the square. See how they liked that. They'd probably have to tunnel under it to remove her words.
As soon as the gateway closed behind her Taija sagged with relief. That had been… more than distressing. She needed to find Tel to talk to him about it. He'd understand in a way no one else would.
"Please could you head back to the Hall and get a team together to move this somewhere safe," Taija gestured at her stolen artwork, "it's from my time and I want to put it up somewhere. Maybe in the centre of the Hall. I'll explain more later, but I need to speak to a few people now. I'll be back as soon as I can be."
Before they could ask any questions she was already spinning a gateway. She didn't actually know where Tel was, somewhere organising armies, but someone in Caemlyn would know, that was Rand's centre of operations. She came out just at the edge of the anti-Traveling wards, stepped past them and spun a gateway closer to the city. Repeating that a couple of times got her to the edge of the denser wards, from there she'd probably need to walk.
After about fifteen minutes of following the stream of people heading into the city, fifteen minutes of chewing over what she'd heard in Paral again and again, Taija reached the gates. There was an aspirant there hitting people with slicing webs at random. There were too many people going in and out of Caemlyn to get everyone, but they could at least have some random security. He saw Taija and recognised her, suddenly blushing and bowing low.
"Taija sedai! Are you here to see Rand sedai?"
"Yes, why has something happened?"
Taija listened with a sinking feeling as he explained. Oh Light, the poor boy! Then her horror at what had been done started to turn into fear. Surely Rand wasn't just riding out into a trap was he?
"He wasn't going alone was he?!"
The aspirant shook his head. "No Taija sedai, he went to the Hall first, I came here after he went there." So he'd have taken reinforcements with him to spring the trap. The poor poor boy, so much heaped on his shoulders and now this. He shouldn't be going off to fight, he should be being looked after, hugged and urged to bed. "Min should be looking after him." Taija muttered the words but the aspirant heard anyway.
"She's safe in the Dragon's Palace, he wouldn't want to risk her when he avenges his father." Taija nodded along to that, the aspirant was certainly bloodthirsty judging by his tone. She'd like to see whoever did this dead too of course.
Then her mind caught up with what he'd said, went back to the War. Nerina, mum. Ice sank through her veins. "Rand's father was deliberately targeted, right?"
"Yes, they put on some kind of display of him. I didn't listen to what, it sounded so horrific." Soft. she could only hope that would last, war destroyed too many people's innocence.
Surely Rand would have realised though. Unless he was too emotionally compromised. People didn't think straight when their loved ones died. "Who's left in the Dragon's Palace?"
The aspirant thought for a second. "Cadsuane sedai, I think at least one other Tower aes sedai, plus Rand sedai sent for Fedwin sedai, Setora sedai and Nalil sedai."
Five aes sedai, three of them from the Hall and Cadsuane who was an exceptionally dangerous combatant in her own right. There'd be more dotted around Caemlyn too. Surely none of the Forsaken would be brave or stupid enough to try to attack there? She was just being paranoid. It was an attack on Rand, but Min was safe and there was no one else he cared about as much.
Demandred could do it. Ishamael if he'd been resurrected, he probably had been. Lanfear too, if she wasn't the one Bennae killed. Maybe Graendal or Semirhage. Fuck. They could have help too. Or two of them working together.
Taija took a deep breath. She wasn't going to charge in and get herself killed like she nearly had with Rahvin. She could worry about Paral later. If only Tel was there, the two of them could deal with almost any attack themselves. But he wasn't. Focus. It was probably nothing, but… Taija's mind went back to that horrific display all those years ago. The death of her family.
"This is important, I may be wrong, but I think there may be an attack on the Dragon's Palace. You're relieved from guard duty here," it wasn't like he'd be able to stop any of the Forsaken anyway. "I want you to go straight back to the Hall, find whoever's on duty at the moment and tell them that I need a strike team at the Dragon's Palace as fast as possible. They're not to leave the Hall undefended, it might be a target too, but I need a team that's capable of taking on at least one of the Forsaken. Is that clear?"
He blanched, but straightened up nodding urgently. "Crystal clear. What will you do Taija sedai?"
"I'll go ahead," she glanced into Caemlyn. "Now go, hurry!"
He snapped her a quick bow and then started running away from the city. Taija watched him go for a moment and then started walking. A few seconds later she broke into a jog. She barely noticed the worried looks going between the people who'd been waiting at the gate, or the way some of them reversed course and start heading out of the city again.